Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Republicans see Wisconsin as Anti-Trump Turning Point

Some Republicans see Wisconsin as more than just a single presidential primary.

Rather, they view it as a pivotal moment in a brutal battle for the future of the Republican Party.

Opponents of maverick front-runner Donald Trump, notably rival candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich, see Tuesday's contest as essential to their efforts to deny him the delegates he needs to claim the GOP presidential nomination.

"Tuesday is going to be a turning point in this election," Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, the former presidential candidate who now backs Cruz, said in Green Bay on Sunday.

Campaigning with Cruz on in Kenosha, Wis., on Monday, Walker said he isn't against anybody, but predicted that the primary will be a positive move for Cruz "getting to the 1,237 delegates he'll need at the convention."

While polls give Cruz a lead in the Badger State, Trump — after a period of struggles over his comments about women and foreign policy — is predicting an upset that will all but clinch the GOP nomination.

"If we do well here, folks, it's over," Trump told supporters during a rally Monday in La Crosse, Wis. "If we don't win here, it's not over — but wouldn't you like to take the credit here in Wisconsin for ending it?"

Cruz, citing Trump's low approval ratings among women, Hispanics, and other groups of voters, has told crowds in Wisconsin that the New York billionaire's nomination would be a "train wreck" in the fall election — before quickly adding "that's actually not fair to train wrecks."